Maraş was called Germanicia Caesarea (Ancient Greek: Γερμανίκεια, Germanikeia) in the time of the Roman and Byzantine empires, probably after Germanicus Julius Caesar rather than the German people. According to a 2010 Cumhuriyet article, the first ruins of Germanicia have already been unearthed in the Dulkadiroğulları quarters of the city.[6]

Marash was captured by the Zengids in 1151, but was recaptured by the Seljuks in 1152. Maraş was recaptured by the Zengids in 1173 and was left to Mleh, his collaborator. Marash passed to the Seljuks in 1174 and to the Ayyubids in 1182.

Marash was ruled by Dulkadirs as vassals of the Mamluks from 1337–1515 before being annexed to the Ottoman Empire. In the early days of Ottoman rule (1525–6) there were 1,557 adult males (total population 7,500); at this time all the inhabitants were Muslims,[8] but later a substantial number of non-Muslims immigrated into the city, mainly in the 19th century.[9]

During Ottoman rule, the city was initially the centre of Eyalet of Dulkadir (also called Eyalet of Zûlkâdiriyye) and then a sanjak centre in the Vilayet of Aleppo. Marash was controlled by British troops between 22 February 1919 and 30 October 1919, then by French troops after the Armistice of Mudros. It was taken over by the Turkish National Movement after the Battle of Marash on 13 February 1920. Afterward a massacre of Armenian civilians took place.[10] Roving Turkish bands threw kerosene-doused rags on Armenian homes and laid a constant barrage upon the American relief hospital.[11] The Armenians themselves, as in previous times of trouble, sought refuge in their churches and schools.[12] Women and children found momentary shelter in Marash's six Armenian Apostolic and three Armenian Evangelical churches, and in the city's sole Catholic cathedral. All the churches, and eventually the entire Armenian districts, were set alight.[13][14][15] When the 2,000 Armenians who had taken shelter in the Catholic cathedral attempted to leave, they were shot.[16] Early reports put the number of Armenians dead at no less than 16,000, although this was later revised down to 5,000–12,000.[17][18]

In 1973, Marash's name was changed to Kahramanmaraş when the Turkish government added "Kahraman" to the name, in reference to the bravery of the people of the city in resisting the French occupation after the First World War. Kahraman means "hero" in Turkish.[19]

In December 1978, Kahramanmaraş was the site of a massacre of leftistAlevis. A Turkish nationalist group, the Grey Wolves, incited the violence that left 800–1000 dead. The incident was important in the Turkish government's decision to declare martial law, and the eventual military coup in 1980.[20]

Kahramanmaraş has a mediterranean climate (Csa). Summers are hot and dry with an average of 35 °C (95 °F) but can go higher than +40 °C (104 °F). The highest recorded temperature being 45.2 °C (113.36 °F) on 30 July 2007. Winters are cool and damp with temperatures ranging from 0-5 °C (32-41 °F). The coldest temperature recorded was -9.6 °C (14.72 °F) on 6 February 1997.

Several internationally known ice cream companies, like MADO, Yaşar Pastanesi, EDO and Ferah Pastanesi, started their business in Kahramanmaraş, and thousands of people visit the city because of its ice cream (dondurma in Turkish).